DOC Approaches to Religion and Mythology in Celtic Studies by Katja Ritari and Alexandra Bergholm in History

Description

In this magisterial work; Sami Zubaida draws on a distinguished career’s worth of experience trying to understand the region to address the fundamental question in Middle East studies: what is the Middle East? He argues; controversially; that to see it through the prism of Islam; as it is conventionally viewed; is to completely misunderstand it. Many of what we think of as the ""Islamic"" characteristics of the region are products of culture and society; not religion. To think of Islam itself as an essential; anti-modern force in the region rather than something shaped by specific historical-economic processes is; Zubaida argues; a mistake. Instead; he offers us an alternative view of the region; its historic cosmopolitanism; its religious and cultural diversity; its rapid adoption of new media cultures; which reveals a multi-faceted and complex region teeming with multiple identities. Wide-ranging; erudite; and powerfully argued; Zubaida’s work will be essential reading for future generations of students of this fascinating region.